DiCaprio credible; film praised but not opulently

People already are taking sides when it comes to the new movie “The Great Gatsby”: You’re either on Team Baz or Team Fitzgerald.

On Team Fitzgerald, the belief is that no film will ever capture the essence of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American story — not the 1974 ﻿version starring Robert Redford and certainly not this latest, glittery adaptation with Leonardo DiCaprio.

For Team Baz, in which there can never be too many bright colors or snappy songs, the pairing of over-the-top director Baz Luhrmann ﻿and the opulent Gatsby would seem like an obvious win-win. Months before the movie even opened, Team Fitzgerald was clogging Facebook with angry links and rants, while Team

Baz bought 1920s-themed accessories and threw Gatsby parties.

But neither side is a clear winner.

The truth about this latest “The Great Gatsby” retelling is somewhere in the middle — it isn’t an embarrassment to the author, but it isn’t a cinematic masterpiece, either.

Luhrmann delivers a faithful adaptation to the novel about wealth and morality but with his trademark modern flourishes — party scenes that overwhelm your eyes, a soundtrack that features hip-hop versions of jazz, (unnecessary) 3-D views of West and East Egg. He by no means ruins the essence of the Jazz Age story. In fact, aside from the parties, it’s almost as if Fitzgerald inspired Luhrmann to tone things down. Just a little.

For those in need of a spoiler-free literary refresher, “The Great Gatsby” is about obscenely wealthy New Yorkers told through the eyes of the modest Midwest transplant, Nick Carraway. Through Nick we learn that Gatsby is a man who grew up poor and made his money in mysterious ways. Yet for all of Gatsby’s lavish, weekend-long parties, he’s still pining over his first love, Daisy Buchanan, a girl who happens to be Nick’s cousin.

There’s a love triangle; well, more like a love square, between Gatsby, Daisy, Daisy’s husband Tom, and Tom’s working-class mistress, Myrtle. And the way this drama plays out is captivating, like in scenes where Tom takes Nick to Myrtle’s apartment for a buzzy night of dancing and drinking and living free.

The love story is also moralistic and overly dramatic, especially when a desperate Gatsby sadly throws piles of shirts around his house to show Daisy he’s financially able to take care of her.

DiCaprio is a believable and likable Gatsby, playing him with equal parts confidence and awkwardness. It’s on purpose that we cringe every time Gatsby says “old sport,” as if he’s secretly following an imaginary Old Money handbook. And Tobey Maguire, an actor who has always been on the subtle side, is perfect to play the part of Nick the observer.

Carey Mulligan is a beautiful Daisy, looking very much the part of the iconic literary character. She’s like a piece of art, wearing all those gorgeous gowns and flitting around mesmerizing mansions. Often, though, her portrayal skews toward the vacant, even more so than Fitzgerald probably intended.